3.00pm, CTU Los Angeles
Driving out of the underground garage, Alex decided to go and pick up Joseph from Kim's house and take him home. Curious to know more about his nephew, he wondered about the first few years of Joseph's life. It was likely that Nina only got a few minutes with him before he was taken away, although he thought that there might be some sort of crèche where the women prisoners could visit their child. He knew that Nina had probably avoided the United States up until the night she died, so she probably never saw him after he was a few months old. Remembering that he had a few pictures of Nina in his house, Alex decided to give one to Joseph and tell him all about his mother, apart from the terrorism – that could be left until he was older, or maybe never divulged to him.
3.05pm, MDC Los Angeles
Michelle was driving out of a garage herself, at the prison where Tony was. As she had been given the rest of the day off, she had decided to go home and try and forget about the day's events. Suddenly, as she was waiting at a junction, a black SUV swerved in front of her. Unsure what was going on, she fumbled for her CTU-issued handgun, but decided it was going to be useless when three masked men with AK-47s jumped out of the back of the SUV. The men ran towards her car and jumped in. The one in the front passenger seat ordered her to drive and follow the SUV, and Michelle complied. She wondered what the men wanted, and concluded that it had to be something to do with Amador. He had been a crafty person, and she realised that Amador probably had people watching the house, although why they didn't defend him was a mystery to her.
3.15pm, Oval Office, White House
President Palmer was in a teleconference call with British Premier Michael Blackthorne and Iraqi President Yusuf Khatami. The situation was nowhere near any satisfactory conclusion, and President Khatami was assuring Palmer that everything was being done to locate the hostages and rescue them.
"Our intelligence tells us that the terrorist cell is somewhere south west of Baghdad, in or near the city of Kerbala," Khatami told the other two leaders. He was older than both of them, and wiser in some respects. He had dealt with similar hostage crises before, and was confident that the INIS, the Iraqi counter-terrorist agency, would be able to free them.
"Are you confident that your people can rescue all of the hostages unarmed, Mr President?," Palmer enquired. He was determined not to give the terrorists any victory, and that meant that all the hostages were to be freed unarmed and all the terrorists killed or captured.
"I am quite confident, Mr President, but I must warn you that we cannot guarantee a total success," Khatami replied.
What about Khalid? Has he been moved to a more secure holding facility?," Blackthorne asked. Like Palmer, he was determined not to lose any of his citizens either.
"He has been moved into the Green Zone in Baghdad, so there is little to no chance that the terrorists can attempt to free him themselves," Khatami said. Khalid had been held in a jail in Samarra, but had been hastily moved when news of the hostage crisis reached the Iraqi government.
3.20pm, Kim's house, Valencia
As Alex parked close to Kim's house, he noticed that Kim was stood at the door. Walking up to her, he realised that she looked panicked.
"Kim? What's the matter?," Alex asked.
"It's Michelle. Some men hijacked her car, and CTU have been trying to get in touch with you. They want you to go back there to help find her," Kim told him.
"Tell them I'll be there as soon as I can," Alex spoke as he quickly went back to his car. Realising that this was probably at least partly his fault, he knew that he had to do everything possible to get Michelle back safely.
3.25pm, Port of Los Angeles
As the cars came to a stop outside a boathouse, the three men in Michelle's car ordered her to get out. Out of the SUV came another masked man and a woman. Pushing Michelle roughly, they forced her inside the boathouse and sat her down on a chair. Tying her hands to the arms of the chair, the five masked gunmen left the boathouse, leaving a terrified Michelle alone.
3.30pm, CTU Los Angeles
Chloe was busy trying to track the cars as they made their way through the Los Angeles streets, whilst Jack was engrossed in the video footage of the hijack. He could tell that the men were professional, and that they considered Michelle valuable, like a pawn.
"I think they want to trade Michelle for something, so we should expect a call from someone soon," Jack told Chloe and Erin. Studying the screen, Chloe noticed that the van's registration plate was visible.
"I think I can get their licence plate, Jack," Chloe told him, before zooming in on the plate itself.
3.35pm, Boathouse, PoLA
Michelle was struggling against the rope that was tied tightly around her wrists when she noticed that a man had entered the building. Turning her head quickly, she saw an elderly man, with grey hair and dark brown eyes.
"I wouldn't bother, Agent Dessler. I mean, even if you freed yourself, my men out there would just fill you with bullets and, I know that neither of us wants that. I know Tony Almeida doesn't want that, either," The man spoke, angering Michelle. He obviously knew enough about her, but she didn't recognise him.
"You and your friend, Agent Myers, have caused me a lot of trouble today. I did have a business transaction with Mr Amador, but now he's dead, my shipment is basically floating around in the Pacific. Now, I'm a powerful man, but I need the help of an agency such as yours to rightfully claim that shipment. At least I don't have to pay for it now," he chuckled.
"You think they won't be able to find you? They'll already be looking, I can promise you that!," Michelle shouted at him, determined to show nothing but defiance towards him.
"I don't plan to stay here much longer, and I don't plan to keep you here much longer. No, we'll be elsewhere, waiting for CTU to get me my shipment. When that shipment arrives in Los Angeles, I expect full co-operation with my men, who will transport it elsewhere. As soon as I am assured that my shipment has arrived there, then I will release you. I don't intend to harm you, Agent Dessler, I merely intend to exploit your agency's loyalty to you," he told her in a rather emotionless tone.
"Can I at least ask you your name, or whatever you call yourself?," Michelle asked. She couldn't care less, but knowing a name he used would at least make him seem more regular, more like a normal person.
"You may know and address me as Mr Cassar, Agent Dessler," Cassar replied.
3.40pm, CTU Los Angeles
As Alex walked into CTU, he noticed Jack glaring at him. Deciding to get straight into helping find Michelle, he asked the trio stood around Chloe's computer for any updates.
"We know who owns the SUV, and we think we know where they took Michelle," Chloe told him. Jack grabbed a gun off of the table and chucked it to Alex.
"Come on, we need to get to the Port, where Michelle's car was last seen," Jack spoke gruffly, before heading towards the garage. Alex, knowing that Jack was blaming him entirely for the hijacking, decided not to argue.
3.45pm, Oval Office, White House
Palmer's teleconference had now ended, and he was waiting for any news to filter through. The three leaders had decided that the INIS could use as much force as they wanted, as long as they worked hard to ensure no hostages were hurt or killed. Minutes after the conference, the Iraqi President had contacted Palmer and Blackthorne, informing them that the terrorists had been located in a disused building on the outskirts of Kerbala. He knew that in a few months, his successor as President would be elected, and he didn't envy whoever it turned out to be. Although he had achieved plenty during his term, he had suffered many losses because of it, and he knew that there would be ghosts haunting him for the rest of his life. Those ghosts included the innocent victims of Operation Nightfall, Teri Bauer, Julia Milliken and his ex-wife, Sherry.
3.50pm, road in Los Angeles
"We should be there in a few minutes, Jack," Alex told him as they sped through the streets of the city. Jack, who was trying not to talk to him, grunted in reply.
"I'm sorry I dragged Michelle into this, Jack," he spoke once more.
"I don't care about that right now, Alex. Right now, I want to find Michelle and make sure she's safe," Jack replied, as they pulled up close to the boathouse where a witness had seen Michelle being taken into.
Carefully, and with guns drawn, Jack and Alex moved towards the boathouse. Finding only one entrance, they carefully slid open the door, only for a strange click to be heard. At first, they froze, thinking it might have been a gun. Then Alex looked down on the ground.
"Run! It's a bomb!," Alex yelled, and as the two agents ran away from the building, the bomb exploded, destroying the boathouse in an inferno. Coughing as the smoke went everywhere, Jack and Alex looked at the blazing building in horror.
15:59:57
15:59:58
15:59:59
16:00:00
